June 5 coverage of nationwide unrest and ongoing protests

On a day when the governor of Ohio said a state National Guard member was removed from duty in Washington, D.C. after the FBI discovered evidence of the soldier's white supremacist ideology online, the city's mayor asked Ohio to withdraw its guard members.

District Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday wrote letters to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy arguing that the presence of their guard members is "unnecessary and may be counterproductive." The troops were sent at the behest of the U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, DeWine said.

Bowser didn't mention the removal of the guard member. DeWine said Friday the soldier was under federal investigation and it appeared likely "he will be permanently removed from the Ohio National Guard."

Bowser said the city's state of emergency in response to George Floyd protests that took place near the White House ended Friday morning.

A statue of a Confederate admiral was removed from public view overnight in Mobile, Alabama, the city's mayor said Friday.

The statue of Civl War Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes near the History Museum of Mobile was dedicated in 1900. Mayor Sandy Stimpson did not mention nationwide protests over the in-custody death of George Floyd, but she said moving the monument would help the city heal.

"Moving this statue will not change the past," he said. "It is about removing a potential distraction so we may focus clearly on the future of our city."

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees continues to walk back recent comments about the George Floyd protests with a new message for President Donald Trump: "We must stop talking about the flag."

In an Instagram post addressed to Trump, Brees late Friday said it's time to start talking about making meaningful changes to the treatment and policing of black communities.

"We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial & prison reform," Brees said in the post. "We are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history! If not now, then when?"

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A Maryland cyclist suspected of attacking a group of teens as they put up signs calling for justice for George Floyd was arrested Friday, police in Maryland said.

Anthony Brennan III, 60, of Kensington, Maryland, was booked on allegations of second-degree assault in the Monday attack, which was videotaped and posted on social media.

One of the victims, described as a male, was pushed down by the suspect, who used his bicycle, the Park Police Montgomery County Division said in a statement. Two other teens, described as females, were also listed as victims of the attack in Bethesda.

The trio was putting up flyers that read, "A MAN WAS LYNCHED BY THE POLICE. WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?"

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A New York City police officer who was seen on video shoving a woman to the ground at a George Floyd protest last week in Brooklyn has been suspended without pay. A supervisor who was on the scene will be transferred.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement Friday night that the New York Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau had concluded its investigations into the May 29 incident and a separate incident last Saturday in which a police officer was seen on video pulling down an individual's face mask and spraying pepper spray at him.

Both officers have been suspended without pay, and their cases have been referred to the Department Advocate for disciplinary action, Shea said.

In the last two weeks, New York police officers have repeatedly been accused of abusing protesters, including driving into a crowd and using excessive force to push them back. On Wednesday, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams posted video on Twitter showing police officers in Brooklyn forcibly using their batons against peaceful protesters to get them to move down the street.

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